Moscow: Russia said on Monday that Trkiye is "liked" as a platform by all parties involved in the process of finding a settlement in the ongoing Ukraine war, as the Turkish metropolis Istanbul hosted a third round of direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

According to Anadolu Agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed gratitude to Ankara and the Turkish leadership for their efforts to help resolve the situation around Ukraine. He remarked that Trkiye is favored by all participants in the negotiation process.

Russia and Ukraine conducted a third round of renewed peace talks in Istanbul, following previous discussions in May and June. Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov also acknowledged Trkiye's role in facilitating the talks, considering the country an important platform for dialogue and peace.

After the recent round of talks on July 23, Ukraine proposed a meeting of the heads of state before the end of August. Both sides agreed to continue exchanging prisoners of war. However, Peskov mentioned that Moscow has not yet received a response from Kyiv regarding Russia's proposal to create three working groups for further prisoner swaps.

Peskov also addressed speculations about a potential meeting in Trkiye between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, indicating no specific plans but not ruling out a future meeting between the two leaders in China. He emphasized the need for preliminary expert-level work before engaging the presidents in the process, to ensure a structured and logical approach to the settlement.